Adventures with Doctopus

Today I discovered Doctopus. Apparently I'm a year behind but it's better late than never, right Brownbaggers?  Doctopus is a Google Sheets Add On and, according to its description, it was designed with "teacher workflow in mind - taming complexity and unlocking the power of Google Apps for differentiation and collaboration."  Quite a claim!  You all already know that I am a HUGE FAN of using Google Apps in the classroom.  In fact, I have revamped my entire writing curriculum to be entirely online through Google Drive.

So when I heard about an Add On that could essentially make my life easier by "passing out" my documents, storing them in one place, and allowing me to grade with a rubric... I was down!

Thus far my experience has been a little murky though.  I don't know if it's just me but I found that the explanations of Doctopus could have been a little bit clearer.  Maybe they could have hired a technical writer?  I wonder if the directions make sense to people who have used Doctopus over the past year, but as a newbie I was confused.

It starts off by asking you to import or create a new roster including names and emails.  Simple enough.  
Check!

Then it goes through the different types of folders that can or should be created.  As a newbie, I didn't know the difference.  I suspect that the longer I toy around with it, the more familiar I will become.  You'll see in the picture below that just one assignment for one roster created all of the folders under "July - Summer School Students".  That's 11 folders.  I only have 7 students for this section so imagine a full-sized class!  That being said, I hope and assume that additional assignments will be filed under the same roster.  Time will tell.  But, folders created!
Check!

Next it asks you to choose the assignment template.  I had a difficult time choosing one because it didn't give me access to other folders on my Drive. Maybe that's a glitch with my computer.  Anyhow, I just resaved my assignment template in the folder that the roster had just created.  I could then upload the assignment template from there. I did like that it gives you options for how the students view the document.  For example they can view only, comment, or edit (nothing new) but you can also set it up for them to view each other's or only their own.  That's a cool feature!  It also allows you to send it to groups or to individuals.  There's where a new level of collaboration comes in.  I sent the assignments and checked what they looked like on the other end - meaning I snooped over a student's shoulder.

Check!

Finally it allows you to do Add On's with grading.  I have yet to use those but I look forward to exploring them.  Goobric, an interactive rubric tool, can be added on to the Doctopus sheet so that they interface together.  As I typically grade holistically, I haven't tried it yet. All in good time!

Check!

My thoughts so far?  It seems difficult to use and easy to use at the same time.  As a beginner, I feel like I have no clue what's going on or how to truly utilize Doctopus yet.  It's not super user friendly.  At the same time, I know that it has much to offer. I'm excited to see what opportunities for innovation and collaboration it will bring into my classroom.  

I'll keep you all updated as I become more familiar with it, of course.  Have any of you used it before?  I'd love to get some tips from you all! Comment below or tweet me @mac_ker1.

Coggle Yourself

That's right, Brownbaggers.  I said it.  Coggle yourself.  Coggle is my new fascination.  I love to introduce new technologies into my classroom that allow my students to ease themselves into the writing process.  Technologies that help them to create rather then add one more step to the process.  

Coggle is a FREE mind-streaming software that encourages users to freely associate ideas.  If you've never used Coggle before, check out this tutorial down below!

As a writing teacher, I have found Coggle to be useful in a number of ways.

1. Organization > Students are forced to use a branching mechanism to identify different ideas having to do with their main topic or organization.  
2. Relationships > Students must view their ideas in relationship to one another.  A typical outline uses a Roman Numeral system.  With Coggle, the mind-streaming software uses a Parent > Child > Sister relationship. Not only do students see the differing level of specificity between Parent and Child, they must also recognize the relationship between the sister levels making them unified and coherent.

So how did I use it in my classroom?  I used it for planning an entire paper. In fact, I didn't even make them write the paper.  

I only graded their "Essay Map".

There is nothing anywhere that tells us students HAVE to fully write out each and every essay.  Pre-writing stages are just as, if not more, important than the drafting stages.  Even better, though Coggle seems to be only for pre-writing, most of my students used it for drafting.  Where they started with writing individual words, they later returned and replaced with sentences, examples, and transitional expressions.  Further they revised throughout the entire Coggle process.  They essentially went through the entire writing process without ever writing a traditional essay.  It took them a little over an hour to develop the Coggles you see inn these images.

In and of itself, Coggle is an effective tool to employ in the writing classroom. The uses are limitless.  We should spend more time on the pre-writing stages of the writing as they produce more meaningful and effective essays. Perhaps we should even forgo writing entire essays for specific assignments. After all, Common Core would suggest that we focus more on process rather than product.  

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.4
• Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1-3 above.)
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.5
• Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience. (Editing for conventions should demonstrate command of Language standards 1-3 up to and including grades 9-10 here.)
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.6
• Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology's capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically.

Based on the CCSS listed above, it's important to spend time focusing on the process of idea development and organization.  Coggle is one of many useful tools to implement in your classroom to help you do that.  Try it out!  Let me know how it goes by commenting below with your experiences - the positives and the negatives.

Tutorial: Collaborating with Students Using Google Drive

So I've been raving about Google Drive all week!  I can't get enough of what it has done for me as a teacher and for my students as they are working on their essays!  One of the things that we talked about last night in the #ELAChat (English Language Arts Chat) on Twitter is that so often teachers are not given opportunities for professional development.  We're told to implement this and that technology with no real training.  That being said, I thought I would put together a quick tutorial for how to set up and implement Google Drive in the writing classroom.

Here is a video tutorial on implementing Google Drive:

If you don't have time for the video, here are a few screenshots to get you started:

1.  You and the students NEED a Google Account.  Login to your Gmail account.  Click the "apps" button in the upper right-hand corner and click "drive".  Once you're there, click "create" and "document".

2.  Click Share.  I like to have my students share the document with me.  When they click share, they will be prompted to rename the document.  Once they have, they can enter your email address so that you will have access. This is the most important part!  There are 3 options: can edit, can view, and can comment.  

>"Can edit" means the person they are sharing the document with can edit original content.  

>"Can comment" means the person they are sharing the document with can comment on the document but cannot change any original content from the owner. 

>"Can view" means the person they are sharing the document with can only view the document - meaning they can only read it. Nothing else! 

Depending on the assignment, each of these options are useful.

 3.  Interact with students on their document.  Once given commenting rights, you can comment and chat with students while they are working.  To comment, highlight a section of the essay and right-click on it.  Once you've done that, you can type in a comment that they can see, respond to, or resolve.  You can also chat. To chat, click the chat icon in the top right and write to your students.  A chat conversation will not stay with the document forever but the comments will.  I prefer to use the chat to talk to  students about their work and to send them links to pages that will help them.  The commenting I use to discuss specific sections of the essay.

Below is an example of an interactive document that me and two other students were working on today!  

I have loved using Google Drive in my classroom and would love to hear some more ways that you have implemented it in your classroom.  Please share your ideas down below!

What It's Really About

A few weeks ago I was at church and listening to the Pastor talk about being a servant.  It was the weekend following Easter, so it was not a surprise to hear about extending your faith from passive to active.

The Pastor talked quite a lot about how people in The Church can often times miss the point.  He said, "You can ruin a church by making it activity-oriented instead of Jesus-oriented" and it reminded me of the most profound thing that I learned during my time teaching at the high school level.

I remember sitting in a meeting with my Department Chair, my student teacher, and my student teacher's advisers.  You see, my Department Chair and myself were co-cooperating teachers.  As we sat in this meeting we were discussing the use of activities in the classroom.  He said:

When you wake up in the morning and are thinking about your day,
 are you thinking about the activities you will be doing in class?  

If so, you're missing the point.

Of course what he meant was, we need to be thinking about what our students will be learning.  That needs to be our focus.  The exciting activities we use or cool technology we have implemented means absolutely nothing if we have not really focused on our learning outcomes for the day.

So my question to you is: 

what do you think about when you wake up in the morning?  

It's important to remind ourselves of the purpose of education and why we are teaching who and what we are teaching.  Let's remember to focus on what it's really about in the classroom... our students, their development, and their learning.

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End of the Year Ideas

As the end of the year approaches, many of use are reconsidering what we do to wrap up the entire semester/year.  Some of us have weird end-of-the-year schedules.  Ya know, the ones where final exams are a week before the end of the actual year?  Or grades are due on a Wednesday but you still have class on Thursday and Friday?

DON'T FRET!  We, here at Brownbag Academics, have some great suggestions to get you designing your End-of-Year Curriculum!

Remember please that all of education is simply a reformulation of ideas.  These are ideas that we have used in our classrooms and have found to work very well!  We've collected these ideas over the years: some were developed by ourselves, some were inspired by lessons found online, and some were collected from colleagues.  Feel free to use and abuse these suggestions!  No sense in recreating the wheel.

1.  Create groups and reflect on the year.

• One of our favorite activities involves separating the class into groups to have them reflect on the course's objectives.  Have each group reflect on one of the following: 
• syllabus & course outcomes - did the outcomes match what happened in class?
• readings - favorites?  least favorites?
• assignments - which did they learn the most from?  least?
• activities - did they prefer group work?  partners? individuals?
• advice - what advice can you offer to next year's group of students?
• Then, have the groups present their findings and have a whole class discussion!

2.  End of the year slide show.

• Have students create a slide show welcoming next year's group of students.  Have them work together to include the following:
• welcome notes
• course introduction
• syllabus review
• what to learn
• what to be prepared for
• what they liked best about class

3.  Reflection essay.

• Having students write a reflection essay is a great way to see how each individual student has grown.  Start with having the students review the syllabus and course outcomes.  From there, have students look back at their work - for English teachers, this may mean looking at old essays; for Math teachers, old tests and assignments; etc.  Then have students write about the growth that they have experienced.  What are their strengths?  What are they still struggling with?  How do they plan to continue improving?  This should be a reflection of them and their work, not you and your teaching.

These ideas should get you started!  We like to think that the end of the year is a time for a reflection - a time for students to begin thinking about what they have learned.  With reflection comes growth and that is what we hope for and expect of our students.  Have a wonderful end of the year!

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Conferencing with Students

A few weeks ago I flipped my classroom.

I sent out audio/visual lectures that were 10 minutes in length for my students to learn the content before we met. Then, instead of meeting as a class, we met in small groups. Throughout the semester I have been encouraging community in the classroom through group work so this worked out well.  Obviously the not meeting as a class could only work at the college level, BUT there are ways around this.  For instance, meeting with groups while others work individually.

Before my 20 minute conference sessions with each group, students were required to have watched the first lecture and read/annotate an article. This would be the article they would later write on.

During the conference, then, we briefly reviewed the content from the lecture and then moved on to applying what they had learned.

I got to work with students on their ACTUAL papers. This wasn’t theoretical. It was practical. The response from students was overwhelmingly positive. How this will affect my future classes, I don’t know, but I do look forward to the journey!

Visit http://flippedclassroom.org/ for more ideas on how to flip your classroom at any level with any subject!

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Smart Phones & Robot People

Edudemic recently published the post "A Visual Guide to Slowing Down The Distracted Generation".  I really love that they are recognizing the fact that not only are we as a population not reading as much but that technology has a lot to do with the problem.  

Unfortunately, we have lost the ability as a population to just sit and be.  This is something that I talk with my students about quite regularly.  I'll ask them, "How often do you just sit without watching TV or checking your phone?  How often do you go on a walk and not listen to music?"

We have adapted this crazy lifestyle where we have to be entertained at all times.  And what's really upsetting is that we have lost the ability to entertain ourselves.

Edudemic suggests that we "create passion for the written word" and "make reading fun" among other things.  Is it really that easy to create passion in someone else?  

A question that teachers have been asking themselves for generations is: 

How do we create intrinsic motivation?

Unfortunately I'm not sure if we truly can create a long-lasting intrinsic motivation.  However, as a teacher I'm willing to go for it.  

In general, I would argue that this all starts with open conversation.  We need to talk to our students and children. Ask them what they like and why they like it.  It's not good enough to just ask our students about their passions.  We must get to the root of why their passions are their passions. Probing them to think deeper about what they like and why they like it.

Asking questions like the ones below will help us to better understand them:

• What is it about ____ that you love so much?
• Tell me more about that.
• If you could describe your perfect day, what would it be?
• Why is that so enjoyable to you?

By simply asking questions, we can develop a meta-cognitive behavior in our students.  If we get them thinking and questioning, they will soon be able to take risks in their passions.  Hopefully we can keep them away from having a "device in hand at all times, hopping from shiny thing to shiny thing on the internet" as Katie Lepi mentions that we all do.

As a teacher, I of course care that they are reading.  I care more about their thinking, though.  Yes, reading affects thinking abilities but if they're not thinking on their own already, what's the point of reading?

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Dear Brownbag: Boiling Points

Dear Brownbag,

It drives me absolutely crazy when my students walk in to class without having done their homework. To me, it’s a blatant disregard for my authority. Even more so, it puts us behind schedule. Then I feel like I have to “tell them” all of the content to catch them up. I’ve tried pop quizzes and calling on them during discussion but I still feel my blood boil when they walk into class and I hear them telling each other “No I didn’t do it either.” What should I do?

-Boiling Points
______________________________________________________

Dear Boiling Points,

I get it. Trust me when I say we’ve all been welcoming our students into our classrooms with a smile when you overhear them talking about not doing their homework. It can be really irritating. There are two things to consider in this matter.

1) Your reactions: Don’t consider their actions as blatant attempts to hurt you because 99% of the time they are not. That being said, don’t get angry. Respond with grace and respect. Be kind to your students even when your natural human instinct tells you otherwise.

2) Your presence: How do you present yourself and class material/assignments in class? If there’s a hint of uncertainty in your voice, students subconsciously pick up on that. If you don’t think it’s important, they won’t. Instead, present all material with a spirit of excellence and the expectation that they will complete the assignments with that same spirit.

Frequently students will follow the leads of their teachers. Continue working on yourself and developing who you are as a teacher and you will find your students will be responsive to that.

-Brownbag

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Dear Brownbag: Bored Teacher

Dear Brownbag,

Sometimes I feel like I do the exact same thing in class everyday. As a teacher, I get bored. I do the same sorts of activities and I have the same format for my class everyday. Now I know that kind of regularity is good for my students, particularly those with learning disabilities, but it’s driving me crazy. I feel the itch to change it up but am not sure how to do it. Any suggestions?

-Teacher 
______________________________________________________________________

Dear Teacher,

I totally understand! Even though I am a person who thrives on routine, doing the same thing everyday drives me crazy. My suggestion, do one thing different every week. This can be trying a new activity or having class in a new location like the computer lab or library. It can even be doing the same activity in a different way. For example, if you silent read in class everyday, try it with partners where they summarize each page together. Having one thing different every week keeps it fresh for you.

I know it’s not about the teacher per se but keeping it fresh is what keeps you motivated and doesn’t burn you out! And that, ultimately, effects how you teach and how your students learn.

Brownbag


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Fake It Till You Make It

We've all heard the saying "fake it till you make it" before.  Usually we think of ourselves acting in one manner before we become who we actually dream ourselves to be.  I agree with this in many respects.  But why limit this to ourselves?  Why don't we expand this cliche to that which more often affects our lives.

The people around us.

In the book Spirit Driven Success, Dani Johnson uses "time tested Biblical secrets to create wealth while serving others."  The book itself offers great insight into how we can apply Biblical practices to our lives today... specifically in the business world.

In one section she talks about treating what we have as what we want.  She writes "You have to treat it as though it is already.  Do you not like your car, and therefore, you do not clean it?  It's dusty, it's trashed, there's stuff broken; you just don't care about it.  [God] is seeing how you are treating what He has already given you to determine whether or not you are getting promoted to the next level."

Often times we wish for different students.  Students who are more attentive.  Students who are interested in learning and aren't just grade-hungry.  Or we wish for new co-workers.  Maybe if my department was more interested in professional development, collaboration, etc. I would be happier in my position...in my department... in my current school.

~Let's change the paradigm of fake it till you make it.~

Imagine yourself being in the department of your dreams!  One that collaborates within the department and inter-departmentally.  Imagine yourself being challenged by your co-workers to be a better pedagogue and to be more well-versed in your content area.

Imagine that when you walk into your classroom your students are sitting at the edges of their seats in anticipation to hear what you have to say.  Imagine that when you preview the day's agenda that your students don't moan and grumble but they are excited and eager to work.

~Wouldn't this be wonderful?~

How would you treat your department members and students if this is how they were?  Take 5-10 minutes and visualize what that would look like in your life.  What behaviors would you demonstrate?  How would you talk to them?  In what ways would you react to questions or challenges?

This is how we should be acting already!  Change yourself first. Think about this every morning before work so that it becomes habit.  Set your day with intention.  After all, you are one constant in each of those children's lives!  No it won't change everyone around you, BUT it will change the way you interact with those around you.  AND it will make your days more pleasurable.

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Grading Fast!

If you’re looking through a stack of papers, keep these few tips to help keep your sanity and manage your time:
1. Reread the prompt - know exactly what skills you have expected of your students
2. Read through the entire essay without writing on it - yes! Put that pen down!
3. Make a final note - overall what strengths did you notice? What areas could they improve on? Write them a Dear X letter explaining and be specific.
4. Make marginal notes on the areas mentioned in your Dear X note - these will show students specific examples of what you mentioned! Try it out and let me know how it goes!

Feel free to tweet me @mac_ker or find me on Instagram @mackerby

Another Day Without Class...

Don’t let your students, or yourself, fall behind! Record a lecture or have them do some sort of a journal entry to send to you. Have them read up on current events. Anything to make sure that they don’t lose focus. There have been weeks where I’ve missed 3 days due to weather! But through audio/visual lectures, my students aren’t falling behind! Not an option :)

Flipped Classrooms in Colleges

Flipped classrooms are a cool notion. It’s something I’ve been trying out in my classroom lately and students seem to like it. Whether it’s recording lectures or using audio comments, students come prepared with material and ready to ask questions and apply it! What are your thoughts?? Check out what this professor did!

Lesson Planning Notebook

I’ve tried several lesson planning templates over the years… the free book that the school gives you at the beginning of the year, making a spreadsheet, using a microsoft word document. No matter what I used, I was writing things down and saving material in a ton of different places.

 So I devised my own system. This has a place for the date, the unit, and the lesson plan. It also has a box specifically for your sequence of events… it’s your quick guide to what you’re doing in class that day. Lastly, it has lecture notes or specifics. This is where I write out all of my talking points, instructions, definitions, comments, reminders, or anything else I need to remember to bring up or teach in class.

Yes, I hand write everything.

Everyone has their own system but this allows me to hole punch and keep in a binder. That way, next year when the class comes around, I not only have my unit plans but also my lectures..all saved in one, safe place!
I hope you enjoy!

Use and abuse.

Showing Grace to Students

It’s so easy for us as teachers to get caught up in everything that we have going on.

Grading.
Planning.
Conferencing.
Phone calls.
Copying.
Reading.
Writing.
The list goes on and on.

When we get bogged down by all of this going on at once, it’s easy for us to lose our patience or get irritated. One thing I have learned over the past few years is that the attitude we have as teachers influences how our students learn.

 Over the weekend I went to church and the sermon was about showing grace. Being gracious is important in every aspect of our lives… including our teaching. Being gracious and kind brings all of our students into the “inner circle”. We want our students to feel a part of the academic community and to feel comfortable in our learning environments.

 Remember to take every opportunity to show your students grace and kindness — It can and will influence their learning and their lives.
 

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So, you’re looking for creative ways to use GOOGLE DRIVE in the classroom? Great! Me too! As I was reading through some old essays from my students, I realized that they needed to work more on their thesis statements… In other words, I need to work more with them on their thesis statements.

So, I immediately sent out a Google Spreadsheet. 3 columns for each section I teach:
1) Names,
2) Thesis Statements, &
3) My Responses.

 I shared this link with each of my students and gave them all editing rights. It was amazing! Students started putting in their tentative thesis statements and I starting giving them comments. Not only could they see the comments for their own thesis statements but they could see their classmates as well! It was great! They could see all around the sorts of comments that I was giving them. It was a great way to collaborate - across time & space. Students and myself could work on this and view this whenever they wanted.

What are some of the ways that you have used Google in, and out, of the classroom?

Revision Roles

This whole semester has been focused around group work. I’m really trying to encourage an environment of trust among the class. In order for them to truly trust each other in reviewing each other’s written work, I had each member of their group become a specialist in one area of the review process. Each of them had to read some background information, take an online quiz, and then practice their new skills when reviewing each other’s essays.

Click on the link in order to see the full document with the links to various websites! https://docs.google.com/file/d/0By4LLtkW7eYsM20xSHgtUzZQdzg/edit

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